Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Page by Paige in HEBREW!

This sorta blows my mind to reveal...

Page by Paige has been printed in Hebrew!

It is really
surreal to flip thru the book that YOU drew but you can't read a lick
of it. Even the words I hand-painted have been perfectly altered!
Israeli illustrator Alina Gorban
really did an amazing job with that task. Also, the book is read right
to left so that makes it especially bizarre to flip through, since
everything now looks backwards. Backwards. Wow, I can't even
imagine what new kids will pick up this book and what they might take
away from it! I'm a lucky author indeed...

In conjunction with Israel's official "Month of Reading" (June) I was interviewed by The Notepad,
which is an online magazine for children's literature and culture.
(Article by Yotam Shwimmer.) Since the article is all in Hebrew, I
thought I'd include the English version below! Sorry if it's a bit
long-winded.

When did you first read a graphic novel and what impact does it had on
you? Do you think this genre is more reasonable or effective for young
adults nowadays in terms of the artistic expression?

I first read a graphic novel when I moved to New York in 2007, and
the timing couldn’t have been better. Because when I moved from my small
Southern town to the big city, I was excited to get to know the New
York art scene. I went to the gallery opening, museum exhibits, and I
was reading a lot about contemporary art. But much to my dismay, I
didn’t like most of the new art I was seeing. In my opinion it was
boring, had no emotion resonance, and simply wasn’t SAYING anything. It
implied that in order to say something truthful, it must be ugly or
banal. It invited consumption rather than interaction or conversation.
Then there I was going around to galleries trying to find where my
heart-on-my-sleeve artwork fit in, and people seemed more concerned with
where I went to school rather than what I was trying to say. I was
getting really frustrated, wondering, “Where were MY people?!” Then someone gave me a copy of “Fun Home” by Alison Bedschel, and it
was such a breath of fresh air. Here was someone telling a story that
was beautiful, insightful, funny, and kept me thinking about it for days
afterwards. Then I read “Blankets” by Craig Thompson, and this was the
clincher. There was a page with no panels and no words, just a beautiful
drawing of two figures walking through the snow. I thought, “You can DO
that??” My work was in sketchbooks for years, and I loved that intimate
hand-held format. Of course I didn’t belong in the galleries, I needed
to be in books. And these graphic novels showed me here under my nose
was the medium ultimately flexible enough for someone like me, that this
was where I belonged. I started reading all the comics I could get my
hands on.I am such an advocate for comics as a form of self expression!
Especially for young people, who grow up surrounded with sequential
storytelling through film, television, and video games. Contemporary
visual culture isn’t painting, sculpture, and still images...it’s moving
pictures, multi-disciplinary, and immersive experiences. So we need to
keep up with shifting aesthetic platforms if we want to connect with how
the next generation thinks. Comics incorporates writing skills as well
as visual storytelling, it can be done alone or collaboratively, it can
be made digitally or on paper, it can be sketchy or eloquently
painted...it is adaptable for whatever your style is. All you need is
pencil, paper, and dedicated time...and you can create a whole new
world. You can show us the world in your head.

Does Page by Paige is based in some levels on your life as a teenager and as an artist to be?

If
I based Page by Paige on my REAL teenage years, it would have been such
a boring book! I was such a introverted nerdy overachiever in school. I
was in the marching band, played violin in the orchestra, drew comics
for the school paper, and was a Girl Scout. I loved sci-fi, fine art,
and being as invisible as possible. I wanted Paige to be someone who I
would have enjoyed reading as a teenager, someone slightly more evolved
than me so I could learn from her while still finding her relatable.
Paige is based more on who I was in my early 20s, which is when I first
started making art for myself. She’s like the timid self-doubting side
of my personality, who wants to be more but struggles to grow out of her
comfort zone because she is so sensitive. The book was also sprinkled with some of my experiences from when I
moved to New York, because that was a challenging
period when I turned more to my art for support. When things get rough
is always when I rely more on my art to help me through. Many things in
the book were inspired by real life experiences from here and there,
strung together like beads on a necklace. For example, in the book Paige
does street art under the name Finch. I have done some myself under the
name Karat, but focused more on hanging brass etchings.

What drove you to create Page by Paige? And why did you
decide to write a graphic novel rather than an illustrated YA novel,
for example?

In school I studied education, and after getting my
Master’s degree I actually taught art in the public schools for a couple
years. This was where my artistic journey really began, because I felt
like I didn’t know how to teach someone else how to truly be an artist
if I didn’t know how to be one myself. I wanted to understand creative
thinking, where inspiration comes from, and how to maintain sustainable
artistic practices outside the structure of school in the real world. So
I bought a sketchbook and started drawing everyday, deciding to use
myself as a guinea pig. 700 drawings later, I finally started working on
loose paper and sharing my work with others. It was a very humbling,
private process of self discovery. But it was my own art therapy where I
developed my own language of metaphors with which I could understand
the world and myself. I got the opportunity to pitch a graphic novel to Abrams Books, but
at the time my work was illustrative rather than comics. I was stubborn
and didn’t want to change my style, but I knew this opportunity was once
in a lifetime. I had read only a dozen graphic novels by this point, so
it seemed incredibly intimidating for someone who never took an
illustration or writing class. But I thought, hey, this is a way of
teaching what I’ve learned about finding my voice as an artist, which
can be an isolating, humbling, soul-searching process. Most people give
up. So I decided I would try to make a book that would simply encourage
people not to give up. To teach through narrative rather than by
standing in front of a classroom. As children we all naturally draw,
sing, dance, build things, tell stories, and play. (Play is essential to
develop creative thinking.) We all just stop doing these things along
the way for a variety of reasons, mostly because we become
self-conscious about it. But as humans we NEED to express ourselves and
play to maintain emotional health.So I took off three months from work and decided to write this
graphic novel, but only if I could do it in a way that was authentic to
my whimsical illustrative style. So it flips between traditional
sequential panels (portraying Paige’s reality) and my splashy
illustrations (portraying Paige’s imagination). This book was definitely
my stepping stone into comics as a format. In my new book I really made
an effort to weave the “imaginary element” more naturally through the
panels, exploring more thematic metaphors rather than sticking to just
the visual metaphors.

In your experience, how Publisher and editors capture graphic
novels? Do you think the industry in the U.S.A is treated graphic novels
as a respected genre?

Graphic novels have definitely been
growing in popularity in the United States over the past decade, and
have been gaining more acceptance in schools/ libraries. As an
educator, I think graphic novels are great for more reluctant readers
who might struggle with traditional books. I know I would struggle with
reading sometimes, because I was a visual learner and would have to
visualize the story as I read it in order to keep the characters/story
straight. Also, since comics has both verbal and visual components it
actually utilizes both sides of the brain. Even though it has gained
popularity, graphic novels as an art form are still considered to be in
the “low brow” category along with things like street art. Which in my
mind makes us the avant garde, since we’re the ones making
boundary-pushing content out of love rather than profit. Publishers are looking to expand their graphic novel libraries, I
think for many reasons. Comics are gaining more acceptance as a literary
form, they’re being included more in school curriculums, and Hollywood
mines the comics world for new content for films/ TV shows. One current
trend is adapting classic books into a graphic novels, which I don’t see
as replacing the original work but rather presenting it as something
fresh and accessible for a contemporary audience. If publishers were not
seeking out more comics, I don’t think I would have had the opportunity
I did to pitch my book. There is especially a need for more female
voices in comics, because there is a growing female audience and they
might not necessary relate to stories of macho superheroes.

Tell us about the design of the plot in Page by Paige. How did you
use the structure of the book as an object in the genre of graphic novel
to reflect the interesting relation between the themes and the plot and
the way they are being designed through the drawings?

I love duality. In traditional comics you often see the different
aspects of a person’s personality portrayed externally by having a
character with an alter ego, secret superpower, or evil twin. But as an
introvert, this process is more of an internal journey. So how could I
make an introverted character externally dynamic and interesting??
That’s when I decided to show her imagination woven throughout her
reality, make the internal process external. Which really does show how
my brain works. I’ll be present and talking to you one minute, then I
get swept into my head with some crazy idea and I’m totally not paying
attention. Someone asks how I’m doing, and I often think in pictures
before words. With Paige in particular, I wanted to show the difference
between who we present publicly versus who we are actually in our heads.
Creative expression is such a good stepping stone to bring the inner
you out for the rest of us to enjoy.

The book is burst with visual images that reflect both Paige
inner world and creative spirit and the reality she describe in her
sketch book. Plus, your book is a great example for an Ares poetic piece
that use the pattern of a diary to says something about creativity.
Please share with us your comment on these issues.

I suppose Page by Paige does have the spirit of a diary, but uses
the sketchbook as a more visual platform. I’ve always loved the intimacy
of sketchbooks and diaries, how you get the feeling you’re holding part
of someone else in your hands. It feels less censored in more honest.
It can be a bit voyeuristic, but if you connect with the character I
think this can only increase this feeling of trusted intimacy. Which can
otherwise be hard to accomplish considering many modern readers might
be too jaded to really care about a character. But I suppose that’s why I
wrote Paige for people who are like me, as thought I could go back in
time and give myself a book. What did I need to hear? What sort of model
did I need to see? What would have helped me work though those
obstacles on the way to finding my voice and becoming myself? I always
kept journals and they helped me work though problems before I could
even talk to other people about them. My sketchbooks then replaces the
journals. But all my art always starts with writing first, then from
there the visuals come into focus. If I don’t write or draw about my
feelings for a few weeks, man, does it show. I get really cranky and
emotionally pent up but can’t talk about it. Thoughts simply come out
easier through my hands than my lips.

In your book you describe the first steps a young girl is doing
towards adulthood and accepting herself. Since her sketch book is her
diary and the drawings increase her thoughts and emotions through the
visual images – how did you find the correct balance and the perfect
dose of self-study without make it too obvious or overwhelming?

One problem making a story that is rooted in personal experiences is
that it can easily be unrelatable to other people. But this makes it a
good challenge, because instead of simply being self-indulgent you have
to decide what you’re really trying to say. What’s going on at a deeper
level. Focus on those underlying themes and then build your world on
top of it. After all, I make stories so I can better understand myself
but not so you as a reader can understand ME better. I want it to help
YOU understand yourself better. So how do you walk that line? For me, I
do this through my language of metaphors. dBecause people interpret
metaphors totally differently, and they leave room for the reader to
apply it to their own life. You can personalize the moment and put
yourself in the character’s shoes. It’s my way of being as specific as
possible but still trusting the reader to interpret it according to
their own unique perspective.

Please tell us about your new graphic novel.

My new graphic
novel is called “Will &amp;Whit,” and it revolves around a 17 year-old
character named Wilhelmina (“Will”) Huckstep who makes lamps because
she’s scared of the dark. Her shadows are alive, expressing her fears
and insecurities. The story is set in the summertime in a small town
Virginia (based on my hometown) where old-fashioned Will longs for
unplugged adventures with her quirky friends. She gets her wish when a
hurricane named Whitney comes to town and knocks out the power, which
brings everyone together and they actually put on a fun arts carnival.
But the flip side of the blackout is that Will finally has to face her
fears. This story is about chaos and control, strength through
vulnerability, technology and community, friendship and love, and yes,
death. This book was quite a cathartic experience for me.I’m actually developing this graphic novel as a multi-disciplinary
musical for young people, which I am thrilled about! Yet I’m admittedly
intimidated, because it is a whole new format for me. Page by Paige
models how to get a sketchbook and start making art for yourself, which
is more of a solitary journey. But Will &amp; Whit takes this a step
further by modeling how to create community, how to support each other
and combine forces to make something bigger together. Turning the story
into a musical is my way of bringing the lessons I’ve learned working
with a variety of artists here in New York to mainstream America.

Since the industry is going toward the digital medium, what do you
think is the strength of the graphic novel as a genre (that will or
could be create as a digital book), and could it gain from the
digitalization?

Some people fear that people will stop reading paper books all
together as digital content grows, but I really think there is an
audience for both. I feel like digital books will continue to grow in
popularity since it’s convenient and and reading tablets are becoming
more affordable. Paper books might simply become more a niche market for
enthusiasts, similar to the place that vinyl records have in the music
industry. In my mind, I predict that the superhero comic industry will
turn mostly digital because let’s face it, who has room to store all
those long boxes of trade comics? Also, they come out on a weekly basis
so a downloadable comic is perfect. Whereas I think the indie comics
world will remain more in the paper market. Because indie comic fans
like myself see it more as an artistic format and prefer having that
physical connection with the page. We geek out over the production
quality. We want to hold a book in our hands, carry it around in our
bag, pass it along to a friend. I have seen some interesting uses of the digital format (like “Power
Play”), but these are the ones that are designed FOR digital. But they
have a different feel than comic books, they rather lean more towards
motion comics or storyboarded film. They utilize panel-to-panel
storytelling without the need for a multi-panel page layout. I’m not
opposed to entering the digital realm myself, but that’d be down the
road and only if I got a really fun idea. I like exploring different
formats and media all the time, so if I went digital it would be an idea
that I could ONLY do that way.

What – to your opinion – makes a good graphic novel?

Graphic
novels are a truly unique format, combining visual storytelling with
written narrative in an intimate package. I think the best graphic
novels are the ones that take advantage of its flexibility and create a
world you can really lose yourself in. I like inventive layouts and
compositions that surprise me from page to page. I love when people
bring in other techniques like photography, watercolor, or collage. I
enjoy it when writers allow the art to speak on its own rather than
clogging up the pages with too many words. I like pages that breathe and
invite my eyes to linger. I’m a sucker for good craftsmanship,
especially expressive linework. Besides technique, I like stores that
are honest, resonant, and brave. Don’t talk down to me as a reader, just
trust yourself and trust me. If an author pours their heart and soul
into the work, you can see it and feel it. That’s what captivates me the
most.

In other news...

I got specifics for Heroes Con in North Carolina this upcoming weekend! I'm sharing a table with Brooklyn illustrator Sara Woolley in a prime spot on Indie Island, table #1029.